Boat trailer



June 16, 1959 c. A. BLY

BOAT TRAILER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Au 30, 1957 INVENTOR. Cmz-ns A. ELY

c. A. BLY 2,890,466

BOAT TRAILER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 16, 1959 Filed Aug. 30, 1957 WM Y Maan ATTO \ZH EYS 2,890,466 Patented June 16, 1959 BOAT TRAIL'ER CurtisA. Bly, Silver Spring, Md.

Application August 30, 1957, Serial No. 681,346

3 Claims. (Cl. 9-1) The present invention relates to boats and inparticular to a boat having retractable wheels for travel over a groundsurface when towed behind a vehicle.

An object of the present invention is to provide a boat havingretractable wheels which may be readily extended or retracted by asingle operator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a boat havingretractable wheels in which the wheels are easily accessible forreplacement or servicing.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a boat havingretractable wheels which offers no resistance to passage through thewater when the wheels are in the retracted position, one in which theretractable wheel assemblies may be incorporated in various hull designssuch as speed boat hulls or sail boat hulls, and one in which such wheelassemblies when retracted are virtually waterproof.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a boathaving retractable wheels which are simple in structure, economicallypractical, and highly effective in action.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will befully apparent from the following description when taken in connectionwith the annexed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an isometric view of a boat hull according to the presentinvention with the wheel assemblies in their extended position;

Figure 2 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 22of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the portion of the boat hull bottomwith the wheels in the extended position;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a sectional View taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Referring in greater detail to the drawings in which like numeralsindicate like parts throughout the several views, the combined boat andtrailer according to the present invention is designated generally bythe reference numeral 18 and comprises a flat hull bottom 12 and spacedsides 14 and a transom 16 rising from the bottom 12. The hull bottom 12is provided with an elongated opening 18 (Figs. 3 and 4) adjacent eachof the upstanding sides 14 of the hull.

A wheel assembly, designated by the reference numeral 28, is positionedbeneath and in alignment with each of the openings 18 and is retractablethrough the opening 18 into the hull above the opening 18. The boat 18is provided with a pair of wells 22 and 24 within the hull and adjacentthe sides 14 beneath which each of the wheel assemblies 20 is positionedfor movement through the respective opening 18. As the wheel assemblies20 are identical they will be described with reference to the wheelassembly 20 beneath the well 22.

The wheel assembly 20 comprises a flat cover plate 26 normally bridgingand closing the opening 18 and an extension plate 28 projecting from oneend of the cover plate 26. A pair of trunnions 30 are secured to thehull bottom 12 on each side of the opening 18, as shown in Figure 5, andsupport the end portions of the shaft 32 which is fixedly secured to theupper face of the cover plate 26 inwardly of and adjacent the point ofits connection to the extension plate 28. The shaft 32 constitutes meansconnecting the cover plate 26 to the hull bottom 12 for movement fromthe bridging position to a position in which it is wholly within thehull and away from the opening 18, the bridging position being shown infull lines in Figure 2 and the position away from the opening 18 beingshown in dotted lines in Figure 2.

When the cover plate 26 is in the position bridging the opening 18 theextension plate normally extends in a downwardly sloping directionbeneath the hull bottom 12 and toward the rear of the boat trailer 10.The wheel assembly 20 includes a supporting member 34 arranged on theside of the extension plate 28 contiguous to the cover plate 26 andbeing arcuately curved so as to extend over and serve as a shield for awheel 36 which is mounted upon a stub axle 38 projecting perpendicularlyfrom the medial portion of an arm 40 which has one end portion bent at aright angle and pivotally connected to an eye formation 42 provided inthe free end of the supporting member 34. The other end of thesupporting member 34 is fixedly secured to the extension plate 28 bywelding or other suitable means. The wheel 36 normally engages a groundsurface, as at 44 in Figures 2 and 4, and is rotatably mounted upon thestub axle 38.

Resilient mounting means connects the other end of the arm 40 to theunderside of the extension plate 28. Such means consisting of a pair ofcoil springs 46 and 48 (Fig. 2) mounted upon a bolt 50 which extendsthrough a support member 52 with the spring 46 on the upper side of thesupport member 52 and the spring 48 on the other side of the supportmember 52. One end of the spring 48 is seated in a cup 54 formedintegrally with the adjacent end of the arm 40 through which extends thethreaded free end portion of the bolt 50 resiliently connecting theadjacent end of the arm 40 to the support member 52.

A vertically extending rod 56 is rotatably supported adjacent its upperend in a bracket 58 fixed to the inner surface of one of the hull sides14 and has its lower end received in a socket, as shown in dotted linesat 60 in Figure 4. The lower end portion of the rod 56 has fixedlysecured to it a latch element or bar 62 movable in response to partialrotation of the rod 56 from the dotted line position adjacent the side14 of the hull to the full line position bridging the opening 18 andoverlying the cover plate, as shown in Figure 5.

When the bar 62 is swung to the transverse position overlying the coverplate 26, it is received, at its medial portion under one end of a latch64 carried by the cover plate 26. A bolt 66 extends through the one endportion of the latch 64 overlying the mid-part of the bar 62 and isthreadedly received in a threaded hole provided in the bar 62 forlocking the bar 62 to the latch 64 against accidental removal fromengagement with the latch 64. The uper end of the rod 56 is providedwith a handle 68 for manually shifting the bar 62 into and out ofengagement with the latch 64. The latch 64 constitutes cooperating meanson the cover plate 26 engageable by the bar 62 on the hull bottom 12 forholding the cover plate 26 in the hull bottom opening bridging position.A keeper 71 is carried on the extension plate 28 in such a position asto receive a latch bolt 70 on the upper face of the hull boter tom 12when the extension plate 28 is in the position bridging the opening 18with the wheel assembly wholly within the hull of the boat trailer 10.

Means is provided on the free end and sides of the extension plate 28engageable with cooperating means on the portions of the bottom 12adjacent the end of the opening 18 remote from the shaft 32 and alongeach of the side edges of the opening 18 for preventing movement of theextension plate 28 upwardly into the hull beyond the closing positionwhen the cover plate 26 has been shifted upwardly to the position awayfrom and above the opening 18. This means consists in a ledge 72extending along the free end of the extension plate 28 and along each ofthe side edges thereof and engaging under a shoulder 74 provided on theadjacent portion of the hull bottom 12 surrounding the opening 18.

Means is provided for preventing the outward movement of the cover plate26 completely through the opening 18 in the hull bottom and consists ofa transversely arranged bar 76 securely fixed as by screws 77 to theupper side of the cover plate 26 adjacent the free end of the latter andhaving portions adjacent each end extending beyond the opening 18 andengaging the adjacent portions of the hull bottom 12 when the coverplate 26 is in the position closing the opening 18, as shown mostclearly in Figure 5. The keeper plate 78 is also provided for holdingthe free end of the bar 62 in its locking positions securing the coverplate 26 in the position bridging and closing the opening 18.

A cover 80 is hingedly connected to the upper ends of each of the wells22 and 24 and provides a means by which the wheels 36 are readilyaccessible for replacement or service when necessary. The covers 80 whenraised also provide access to the handle 68 and to the bolt 66 forreleasing the bar 62 when it is desired to raise or lower the wheelassemblies 20.

In use, a single operator is all that is necessary to convert the boatto a trailer. Preferably, the wheel assemblies 20 are manually loweredone at a time when the boat trailer is in the water and supportedtherein. Water will enter the wells 22 and 24 but as the latter aresealed to the sides and bottom of the hull, no water will enter the hullfrom the wells 22 or 24. With the bar 62 turned to the unlatchedposition, the wheel assembly in each well 22 and 24 may be readilyraised to the position above the hull bottom 12 with the extension plate28 covering and closing the opening 18 beneath the respective well 22 or24. When the extension plate 28 covers and closes the opening 18 in thehull bottom 12, stones and dirt are kept from entering the respectivewell 22 or 24 from a road surface. A conventional hitch 82 is providedon the forward end of the boat trailer 10, as shown in Figure 1, forattachment thereto of suitable towing means provided on a towingvehicle. With the wheel assemblies 20 in the down position and locked,the boat trailer is easily withdrawn from a body of water and towedbehind a towing vehicle over a road surface from one lake to another orto a place of storage.

While only a preferred embodiment of the present invention has beenshown and described, other embodiments are contemplated and numerouschanges and modifications may be made therein without departing from thespirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a combined boat and trailer, the combination with a flat hullbottom, and upstanding spaced sides rising from said bottom, there beingan elongated opening in said bottom adjacent one of said sides, of awheel assembly positioned beneath and in alignment with said opening andretractable through said opening into the hull above said opening, saidwheel assembly comprising a flat cover plate normally bridging andclosing the opening in said bottom, an extension plate projecting fromone end of said cover plate, said extension plate normally extending ina downwardly sloping direction beneath said hull bottom, a supportingmember arranged on the side of said extension plate contiguous to saidcover plate and having one end fixedly secured to the extension plateintermediate the ends thereof, an arm positioned beneath said supportingmember and having one end pivotally connected to the other end of saidsupporting member, a stub axle projecting perpendicularly from themedial portion of said arm, a wheel normally engaging a ground surfaceadjacent said opening and rotatably supported on said axle, andresilient mounting means connecting the other end of said arm to saidextension plate, said cover plate being connected adjacent one endthereof to said hull bottom for movement from the bridging position to aposition in which it is wholly within the hull and away from the openingwith the wheel assembly within the hull above the opening and theextension plate bridging and closing said opening.

2. In a combined boat and trailer, the combination with a fiat hullbottom, and upstanding spaced sides rising from said bottom, there beingan elongated opening in said bottom adjacent one of said sides, of awheel assembly positioned beneath and in alignment with said opening andretractable through said opening into the hull above said opening, saidwheel assembly comprising a flat cover plate normally bridging andclosing the opening in said bottom, an extension plate projecting fromone end of said cover plate, said extension plate normally extending ina downwardly sloping direction beneath said hull bottom, a supportingmember arranged on the side of said extension plate contiguous to saidcover plate and having one end fixedly secured to the extension plateintermediate the ends thereof, an arm positioned beneath said supportingmember and having one end pivotally connected to the other end of saidsupporting member, a stub axle projecting perpendicularly from themedial portion of said arm, a wheel normally engaging a ground surfaceadjacent said opening and rotatably supported on said axle, resilientmounting means connecting the other end of said arm to said extensionplate, said cover plate being connected adjacent one end thereof to saidhull bottom for movement from the bridging position to a position inwhich it is wholly within the hull and away from the opening with thewheel assembly within the hull above said opening and the extensionplate bridging and closing said opening, and a releasable latch elementon said bottom and engageable with cooperating means on said cover platefor holding the cover plate when in the closing position.

3. In a combined boat and trailer, the combination with a flat hullbottom, and upstanding spaced sides rising from said bottom, there beingan elongated opening in said bottom adjacent one of said sides, of awheel assembly positioned beneath and in alignment with said opening andretractable through said opening into the hull above said opening, saidwheel assembly comprising a flat cover plate normally bridging andclosing the opening in said bottom, an extension plate projecting fromone end of said cover plate, said extension plate normally extending ina downwardly sloping direction beneath said hull bottom, a supportingmember arranged on the side of said extension plate contiguous to saidcover plate and having one end fixedly secured to the extension plateintermediate the ends thereof, an arm positioned beneath said supportingmember and having one end pivotally connected to the other end of saidsupporting member, a stub axle projecting perpendicularly from themedial portion of said arm, a wheel normally engaging a ground surfaceadjacent said opening and rotatably supported on said axle, resilientmounting means connecting the other end of said arm to said extensionplate, said cover plate being connected adjacent said one end thereof tosaid hull bottom for movement from the bridging position to a positionin which it is wholly within the hull and away from the opening with thewheel assembly F- an position when the said extension plate is in theclosing position with respect to said hull bottom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS MoodyFeb. 19, 1957

